Mr. Kerslake visited workers at Cessnock’s Ausgrid depot on Thursday to discuss the issue, which will see the sale of both Ausgrid and TransGrid – the publicly-owned poles and wires companies that deliver electricity across the Hunter.

“Premier Mike Baird is willing to leave future generations poorer by selling off the State’s largest income generating asset, all to build a war-chest to fund election promises,” Mr. Kerslake said.

“Every state that has sold their electricity poles and wires has seen higher prices for consumers, poorer service standards, and cuts to jobs – especially in regional areas.

“The experience in Victoria following privatisation was massive job losses due to the new private owners cutting back on major investment and maintenance.

“If the Baird Government are re-elected in March 2015 they will condemn the Hunter community to local job losses and a higher electricity prices.”

Cessnock resident Barry Dallen worked at Cessnock’s electricity depot for over 30 years and said that he has always firmly opposed privatisation. 

“I am totally against it, on every level,” he said. 

“Electricity will get more expensive, I don’t care what the politicians say.

“Once it is in private hands they will be able to charge whatever they want for it.”

Mr. Dallen first came to Cessnock in 1964 after the Hunter Valley County Council took over the area’s electricity distribution from Caledonian Collieries.  

Three decades later he said he was then offered a redundancy when then-Premier Bob Carr introduced the idea of privatisation in the late ‘90s. 

“Mr. Carr wanted to privatise it then and a lot of workers were offered redundancies to make it more attractive to the private sector,” he said. 

“All the years I worked I always advocated for Cessnock to have a better depot.

“My view if it is privatised is that the network will eventually run down.

“I think all essential services such as electricity and water should always stay in government hands.”

Mr. Kerslake said that while the Premier publicly committed to taking electricity privatisation to the March 2015 election, he had already locked in lucrative contracts worth millions of dollars with investment banks, lawyers, and accountancy firms to start the sale process.

“Our electricity network – made up of Ausgrid, Endeavour Energy, Essential Energy and TransGrid – is the state’s most valuable income generating asset,” he said.

“The profits from these four companies currently deliver billions of dollars every year to help pay for schools, hospitals and transport – income that will be lost forever following privatisation.

“Under Premier Baird’s plan, the people of Cessnock will be left paying higher electricity bills as private owners cut back on spending and increase prices to maximise returns for shareholders.

“I challenge anyone to provide examples of anywhere that privatisation has led to lower prices.”